MACOMB – An ice fishing shanty partially submerged in Black Lake drew the attention of environmental conservation officers and led to charges against the owner.

ECOs Bret Canary and Joel Schneller located the shanty on the lake in the town of Macomb on April 4.

Shanties are required by law to be removed from the ice by March 15, to avoid exactly what happened in this instance, an April 17 news release from the state Department of Environmental Conservation said.

The shanty had no visible identification of ownership, which is also required by law, DEC said.

A concerned citizen provided the ECOs with social media photos from 2018 showing garbage close to the same shanty. ECO Canary waded into the water and hooked a chain to the shanty while ECO Schneller towed the shanty to shore.

A closer inspection of the shanty proved it was the same one from the pictures, which also happened to detail a name and address of the owner.

The ECOs found the owner and made charges of leaving a shanty on ice after March 15, illegal disposal of solid waste, and creating a navigational hazard.